Learn and Share

Charles Kiser —  June 9, 2008 — 2 Comments

This week Mission Alive, our church planting resource organization, is hosting a Strategy Lab for church planters. The lab is the last of three in a process of Mission Alive training modules: the first is the Discovery Lab, for the purpose of assessment; the second is the Theology Lab, for developing theological frameworks for the task of church planting.

The Strategy Lab functions to help planters think through their ministry plan for church planting—cultural analysis, ministry structures, processes of spiritual formation, connecting with non-Christians, etc. At the end of the Lab the planter couple presents their strategy for how the new church will take shape. This strategy becomes the foundation for what will actually happen when the planters hit the ground.

Julie and I first participated in the Strategy Lab in the fall of 2006. We received great training and developed a close bond with our fellow Lab participants (many of whom are now also starting new churches).

The most valuable tools we developed in the Lab were a process of spiritual formation (i.e., steps for facilitating spiritual growth from non-Christian to leader) and a leadership development track. We spent the majority of our apprenticeship period at Christ Journey and Sunrise fleshing out these two tools.

And now I’m headed back to the Strategy Lab to share with other planters what we’ve learned as we’ve applied some of the ideas of the Lab to our church planting context.

I hardly feel qualified for such a role given that we’re still learning so much. At the same time, I love this baton-passing element of Mission Alive. We’re always learning, and the best use of our learning is to share what we’re learning with others.

It reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s philosophy of ministry: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).

This rhythm of learning and sharing applies to all of us whether we’re church planters, parents, engineers or accountants. Indeed, the heart of discipleship is learning what it means to follow the way of Jesus and sharing what we’ve learned with others who are seeking to learn.

What are you learning that you can share? Please share it with me!

In Church Planting, Mission Alive
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Confessions of a Struggling Church Starter

Charles Kiser —  June 2, 2008 — 8 Comments

Have I mentioned that this whole church starting thing is hard work?

The part I’m finding most difficult right now is making initial connections with people—the cold-turkey, how’s it going, who are you, what do you do kinds of conversations.

Sure, I’m a pretty gregarious person, but it takes a little while before that crazy guy can come out of his shell. I was that way in junior high; high school; college; grad school; and what do you know, I’m still that way.

I’m not sure exactly why it’s so hard for me. It’s probably partly because I’m such a people pleaser. I want people to like me. I want to say the right things. I want to be cool. I don’t want people to think I’m a religious salesman.

Perhaps it’s hard because I don’t just want to have conversations with people; I want to have spiritual conversations with people. Spirituality/religion is a particularly private thing in our culture. It’s one of two things you don’t talk about (politics the other) unless you’re prepared to get in a fight.

I’m finding, however, that these kinds of conversations are much less daunting when there’s a more natural reason to have them, outside of the obvious reason of connecting with people along the wavelength of spirituality.

Conversations take place more naturally when I’m on a flag football team with people, or at a civic organization meeting, or at dinner, rather than after someone opens the door when I’ve randomly knocked on it.

Yet it’s still hard in more natural contexts. I’ve found myself sitting on the couch before going to engagements where I would meet new people trying to think of excuses for not going. [I’m laughing at myself as I type this.]

That’s right, I’m a church starter. I’m supposed to have a knack for this kind of thing. Yeah…I feel under-qualified for the job sometimes.

At the end of the day, it’s worth all the inner turmoil. It’s worth the challenge. I get the privilege, after all, to engage people concerning the most important kinds of things in the whole world.

Perhaps you’re like me…why do we have such a hard time with this?

In Community Connection, Conversation
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House Church Gatherings

Charles Kiser —  May 27, 2008 — 5 Comments

Our house church gatherings are at the heart of who we are as a church. Church to us is less of an institution than it is a web of relationships formed around a common purpose. Church isn’t a place we go to; it’s a community to which we belong. The way of Jesus is a way of life that is learned, modeled and lived out relationally.

This conviction about the nature of church is why we’re starting with house church ministry and not with a super-sized worship gathering. It’s why the worship gathering, even after it’s started, will be second (or fifth) place in importance. In fact, it will probably not take place weekly, especially in the early stages.

House church gatherings of 10-20 people are and will always be the central venue for life in the Storyline Community. They most fully embody the chief values of our community—dependence on God, mission, life change and genuine relationships.

To be honest, we use the term “house church” for lack of better words. Some call it organic church; others call it simple church; others call it cell church (as in a smaller part of something larger).

One thing I do like about the phrase is that “church” is part of it. House churches are not an appendage ministry for us among other ministries; house churches are the essence of who we are as a church—so much so that I would rather describe Storyline Christian Community as a network of house churches rather than just a church (though the latter is certainly still true).

Our hope and plan is that our ministry is reproductive: as followers of Jesus help to create other followers of Jesus, house churches will start other house churches, and Storyline will start other churches.

So what do our house church gatherings look like?

We gather for meals and share life. We share communion in the context of our meals. We joke around. We tell stories. We sing together. We confess our struggles to each other.

We have conversations about Scripture, current events, music, God, food, spirituality—things that really matter to us. We share our resources to help the poor and connect to those who are far from God.

We throw good parties. We welcome new people of all kinds into our midst. We participate in justice projects in the community. We pray for each other, our friends and our city.

It’s a little reminiscent of the early church (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35)—not only in the forms and activities, but also in its potential to turn the world upside down.

In Church, House Churches, Models, Values
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It’s Official: Storyline Christian Community

Charles Kiser —  May 19, 2008 — 18 Comments

Well, many of you know we’ve been laboring away at a name for a couple months—and what a long, arduous process it has been.

We started with a couple weeks of brainstorming, through which a couple potential names emerged (image and epic, if you wanted to know). We took them to our Dallas friends and asked them what they thought and received consistently negative feedback.

So we decided to go back to the drawing board.

Our struggles motivated us to enlist the help of an ad/marketing agency called Isphere. Chris Gaines, Isphere’s President, is a member of the Richland Hills Church and a creative mastermind. Take a look at some of his company’s work with Richland Hills at www.dangerousmessage.com. We knew after a lunch meeting with Chris that he would provide invaluable help and input to our process.

As of this morning, with encouragement from Chris and other friends, we’ve landed on Storyline Christian Community.

Why Storyline?

I’m hoping others will ask that same question. I know it’s weird and different, and that’s part of the intrigue. That’s partly why I love it. Because when you ask, I can tell you:

Storyline is a word for plot. It refers to the way a story moves, the direction it’s headed. All of our lives move along a storyline. Our storylines intersect with other people’s storylines.

What if there was one storyline that overarched every human’s personal storyline? What if there was one grand narrative that all of us were part of?

That’s exactly what we believe is going on in the world: God is weaving a storyline together out of all of our stories. And it’s up to us to choose whether or not our personal storylines intersect and merge with God’s.

What exactly is God’s storyline? Simply, that:

  • God created the world and humanity for the sake of genuine relationship with what he made;
  • humanity decided to go it’s own way and brokenness ensued in humanity and the world;
  • God takes on human form in Jesus of Nazareth and through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection God provides a way for humanity and the world the be healed;
  • one day God will bring about the total restoration of the world and humanity that began when God raised Jesus from the dead;
  • and in the meantime, the community of people that find healing in Jesus comprise the Church and they exist to invite others into the same kind of healing and partner with God for the sake of the world’s restoration.

What a story! This is the story that gets me out of bed in the morning.

Why Christian Community (and not Church)?

Like the early church, we chose functional words to describe who we are. The word “church” (Greek: ekklesia) was actually a word the early Christians borrowed from their Greco-Roman cultural warehouse. This word for church frequently referred to a government legislative assembly.

So in the same spirit, we are a Christian Community. We are Christian because we live by the spirituality of Jesus, the Christ/Messiah; and we are a Community because we are a network of relationships, not an institution.

At the same time, we’re not averse to the word church. It’s a well-known word in our culture (though packed with lots of baggage). We are a church. We are church starters. And we are, by God’s grace, a part of the universal Church. We are in no way ashamed of that.

[Side note for Greek nerds: Dr. Allen Black at Harding Grad School cautions against pulling theological meanings out of the etymology of ekklesia—as in the church as a “called out” people (ek = out; klesia = called). Making that kind of meaning would be equivalent to saying that a butterfly is a fly whose wings are greased with butter. Ridiculous. The etymology totally misses the actual import and reference of the word. Sorry—I’ve been holding on to that little gem for a long time.]

What’s funny is that my first official presentation for this new church at a Mission Alive Strategy Lab was arbitrarily called “Story Church.” We’ve come full circle in many ways.

Tonight the Kisers and the Porches are going out on the town to celebrate the victory of arriving at a name. We will think of you as we enjoy our crème brulee.

We’ll keep you posted as we develop a website at www.storylinecommunity.com (and .org, and .net—we purchased them all!)

Next week I’ll share what a typical house church gathering has looked like thus far.

Thanks for your prayers.

In Nerdy Greek, Story of God, Storyline
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Justice and the Mission of God

Charles Kiser —  May 12, 2008 — 17 Comments

One of the first appointments we made after arriving in Dallas was with Larry James at Central Dallas Ministries. We desired to get to know what was going on in the city in terms of community service and development, and CDM is making a significant impact in those areas. We asked Larry how we might come alongside CDM and partner with them in community development.

He said a couple things that got my attention. The first was that not many churches ask that question. Most are concerned with volunteer opportunities for their members and avenues for evangelism among the poor. The second thing: he encouraged us to build relationships with our poor neighbors. Personal relationship would benefit both us and our neighbors more than any token volunteer hours could.

—

We met Chad and Marjorie Matthews several weeks ago. Chad was a youth pastor in east Texas for a few years. He recently quit his job and, after receiving an unexpected monetary gift, relocated with his wife to downtown Dallas. What do they do now? They hang out with the homeless every day. They take them out to lunch. They have them over for dinner. They offer chauffer services when someone needs a car to get around. They call what they do “I Love Evelyn,” the name of the first homeless woman they met in Dallas. Chad says with a gleam in his eye, “We just want to see what love can do.”

Porche and I recently went to eat lunch with Chad, Marjorie and their friend Wesley. Wesley is intelligent. He is a man of values. He is a man of integrity. He is a man of gratitude and humility. He is 67 years old and looks 47.

When Wesley learned that I was a “preacher”, he cautioned me not to be like other preachers who were in it for money or renown. When I asked him what counsel he would give me as a preacher he said, “When you get behind that pulpit, you better not half-step it; you better bring it all. Tell the truth.”

Wesley, by the way, doesn’t have a home right now. He sells newspapers on a downtown corner so he can make ends meet and save up for a new place.

—

A couple weeks ago I volunteered with a non-profit organization in town called SoupMobile. It is directed by a man named David Timothy, affectionately referred to as the Soup Man. Every week day he prepares lunches for the homeless in downtown. Around 1 p.m. he loads it up in a van and drives to the Day Resource Center parking lot, where hundreds of people line up to receive a warm meal. His friends always know when he’s coming because he plays the Rocky theme song through speakers attached to the exterior of his van.

On the day I helped out, I gave away 600 hot dogs in 60 minutes.

—

Ryan and I came back from the National New Church Conference with some new resolve to listen for the needs of our local community by conducting some form of a community needs assessment. In short, it entails meeting with community leaders at every level—business owners, school counselors, social workers, non-profit organization directors, elected officials—and in one way or another, asking them what are the needs of the surrounding community.

The hope is that by doing so, we can develop relationships all across the city that will open doors for joint partnerships to do good things for the city and its inhabitants: to help the poor; to curb injustice; to be good neighbors to all our neighbors.

—

Why spend our time doing such things? Why not pour all our efforts in meeting people who are far from God and joining in their spiritual journeys? Why not hold off on “benevolence-oriented” ministry until the church gets off the ground?

Because to us, these things are expressions of one facet of God’s fully-orbed mission in the world: justice. Not justice in the American sense, but justice in the biblical sense. In the Scriptures, particularly in the OT prophets and teachings of Jesus, justice (or righteousness) means taking care of the needs of the poor, the downtrodden, the widows and orphans, the aliens.

We’re having justice conversations because justice is what God is already doing in the world and we want to join him. We want to begin to be the kind of church now that we want to be five years from now—and that means participating in some way in all the facets of God’s mission.

James puts it well: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (1:27).

In Justice, Mission
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